The mission of the Minnesota Council is to provide
Minnesotans with the economic and financial understanding they need to function
effectively in a complex, global environment.
2009 Student Congress on Economics Issues
March 28, 2009
Welcome to the 2009 Student Congress on Economics. The annual Congress brings together students from the seven high schools in the Minneapolis Public Schools District to debate three economics questions. Teams of students from different schools are assigned a point of view in the debate. They work together to build an economics based argument and debate other teams who take other points of view. For example:
QUESTION ONE: What should Casey do?
Casey wants further education after high. He will choose between a 4year college and 4 year trade school. He projects expenses at $5,000 a year beyond what he has saved. The best thing for Casey to do, evaluating both personal and financial issues, (i.e., Net Present Value, risks, personal desires, projected income, etc.) is:
TEAM ONE:South/ Henry High Schools
Go to school by taking out a loan. The $20,000 he will need must be paid back after he graduates. The interest rate is (5.9%) and he will have 10 years to repay.
TEAM TWO: Southwest/Roosevelt/Edison High Schools
Work for two years at a full-time job. He can save $10,000.00 per year living at home with his parents and then he could attend school without taking out a loan and living on a tight budget.
TEAM THREE: Washburn/North High Schools
Work part-time while going to school part-time. Casey figures he could still graduate by using this method and have some financial flexibility.
Concepts: Cost benefit analysis, opportunity cost, time value of money, inflation, externalities
At the 2009 Congress the other two topics were:
Question 2: In 2008 the Bush administration advanced and Congress approved an Economic Stimulus Payment to 130 million taxpayers as a way to support the sagging U.S. economy. Was the policy of rebating cash to Americans an effective policy? Describe the payment structure and defend your position.
Question 3: Recent turmoil in world markets shows the underlying role of banks in economic systems. What if banks fail?
The Congress is supported by the Learning Center for Economics, a jointly sponsored project of Minneapolis Rotary #9, Minneapolis Public Schools, the Minnesota Council on Economic Education, Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota.
